This invention relates to fluidized bed combustion apparatus, and particularly to a fluidized bed combustor.
Fluidized bed combustion units have been developed heretofore for combustion of solid particulate fuels such as coal or wood. Other units have been developed for liquid fuels such as oil. Normally, all such units employ a fluidizable bed material such as silica sand. Although combustion of solid fuel is effective once the unit is operational, start-up can be bothersome. Moreover, if a poor quality coal is combusted, such as coal having noncombustible components approaching fifty percent or the like, the constant accumulation of the noncombustion debris is particularly bothersome such that frequent shutdown for clean out is necessary, causing lost time and followed by difficult start-up.